Speeches that Changed the World

This afternoon, I watched Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech again. (You can find the full speech text and video, along with an extensive Six Minutes speech analysis here.)

I was reminded of the tremendous power speeches can wield. One cannot watch Dr. King or read his words without stirring emotions, even though the speech was given over 47 years ago.

Magical speech power can also be found in dozens of other speeches found in Speeches That Changed the World, a speech anthology from Simon Sebag Montefiore. I received this book as a Christmas present, and I’ve been absorbed by it the past few nights.

The book contains:

57 speeches, beginning with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and concluding with Barack Obama’s victory speech in the 2008 presidential election.

Obviously, most of the speeches are political in nature, but many themes are covered, including religious speeches, war declarations and rallying speeches, peace declarations, civil rights, women’s suffrage, terrorism, funeral orations, and apologies.

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Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.